A Study on the Impact of Overtaking Lane-Changing Behaviour in Expressway Interchange Weaving Areas

This study investigates the overtaking lane-changing (OLC) behaviour in expressway interchange weaving areas, aiming to analyse these behaviours’ causes and potential impacts. Field data are utilised to analyse the statistical characteristics of lane-changing points and spatio-temporal utilisation in weaving areas. A modified NS model, which considers the distribution pattern of vehicle speeds, and a rigid lane-changing rule based on Gaussian distribution are proposed. Additionally, a cellular automaton simulation model is constructed to quantify the influence of OLC behaviour on traffic efficiency and spatio-temporal utilisation based on simulated data. The findings indicate that the imbalanced distribution of lane-changing points and spatio-temporal utilisation in weaving segments, caused by rigid lane-changing behaviour, is an objective factor that triggers OLC behaviour. When the traffic volume in weaving areas ranges from 500 to 1,100 pcu/5 min and the proportion of OLC behaviour is between 0.35 and 0.7, the behaviour will significantly enhance the average vehicle speeds of the outermost lane of the main road and normal rigid lane-changing (NRLC) vehicles, with increases of up to 48% and 51%, respectively. Moreover, OLC behaviour also improves the balance of spatio-temporal utilisation in weaving areas and reduces the average spatio-temporal utilisation. This study clarifies the positive impact of OLC behaviour on expressway interchange weaving areas and provides new research ideas for enhancing the efficiency of these areas.